Framework for effective delivery of school psychology services: a practice guide for psychologists and school leaders

The Psychology Board of Australia Code of Conduct came into effect for all registered psychologists practicing in Australia on 1 Dec 2025.  The following resource will be updated to align with the new Code of Conduct. This resource should be read in conjunction with the Code of Conduct which can be found here.

This framework sets out basic principles and standards and provides practical strategies for the delivery of psychology services to students in government and non-government schools.

The framework provides information for school leaders and administrators about:

• the skills, qualifications and registration requirements of psychologists
• the requirement for professional indemnity insurance
• psychologist’s professional obligations in the workplace, including conflict of interest
• the role of psychologists in direct service delivery, as well as advising or consulting with teachers, parents or guardians and other stakeholders and in whole school community programs

For psychologists, the framework provides a model for effective practice in education settings and provides guidance on issues such as:

• ethical and legal obligations
• informed consent – student, parent, separated families
• confidentiality and access to client files
• psychologist obligations versus school obligations
• practice considerations such as record keeping, assessment and report writing, legal requests, peer consultation and supervision
• complex dilemmas that may occur in the education setting

Psychologists working in educational settings will find this resource useful in day-to-day practice as well as for the resolution of competing interests in professional practice in school settings.

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